Somewhere Only We Know

XLI - Pathways

"Alright, chumps," Cameron said, raising an empty beer bottle to his face. "This is a bottle." He paused, as if expecting us to ask questions like we weren't a group of grown adults.

"Who does this kid think he's talking to?" Chase muttered, glancing around at the rest of us.

Cameron sighed, the sound heavy with irritation. "Then why didn't you say so? Waste of my time." Edward, who was sitting between Kai and me, leaned in close and muttered under his breath, "This is your girl's little brother?" I squinted at him sharply and nudged his shoulder with mine.

We watched as Cameron placed the bottle on the floor before giving it a hard spin. The bottle wobbled violently, spinning faster and faster across the tile floor as we all held our breath, eyes locked on its movement.

Jesse's eyes widened. "Wait, hold on—this is highly inappropriate if it lands on you or Leo."

Cameron reached out casually and stopped the bottle mid-spin with a flat palm, bringing it to an abrupt halt. He looked up, completely unbothered by the concern. "So?"

He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with a weary expression. "Fine, fine. Let's switch it up. Whoever the bottle points to has to confess something. Something real. No boring stuff."

A few people exchanged glances, then slowly nodded. Everyone seemed to agree, the tension easing slightly as the new rule settled in.

The game continued.

The bottle spun again, wobbling across the floor as it slowed down, the sound of plastic against wood filling the quiet room. When it finally came to rest, pointing directly at Mica, she let out a nervous laugh. "Okay, okay. When I was in sixth grade, I was dating a freshman."

"Sixth grade?" Diane burst out laughing. "You were like eleven!"

"I know, I know!" Mica groaned. "But seriously, he was hot. Like, actually hot. He had this whole emo thing going on, and his hair covered one eye, and—"

"Christ, stop, you need to stop," Jesse said, rolling his eyes.

"He was hot," Mica insisted, defending her confession with a smirk.

The bottle spun again, landing on Leonardo. He sat up straighter, looking nervous but determined. "Um. So, I kind of have a boyfriend. His name is Zach."

The room went quiet for a beat, then I started applauding. "That's awesome, Leo!"

Edward raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you, like, ten?"

Leonardo rolled his eyes. "I'm fourteen, Eggward. And yeah, we've been dating for like two years."

Mica smiled softly and nudged his shoulder, patting his back and giving him a little hug. "That's amazing, kid. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks," Leonardo said, hugging her back. "Alright, next." He said as he spun the bottle.

It spun more slowly this time and landed on Diane. She bit her lip, glancing at us nervously. "Okay, so, like, about an hour ago, I drunk-texted Mom. I told her I'm okay with her getting married to Jeorg because it's a blessing to have Leonardo as a little brother."

My eyes widened. "Are you serious, man?"

"Yeah," she admitted, cringing. "And my phone is still vibrating in my pocket."

As if on cue, her phone buzzed. She pulled it out and grimaced at the screen. "We should wrap this up in a bit before she gets here with a belt."